Method of preparing a dispensing container



Oct 1935.

o. c HUFFMAN 2,016,964

METHOD OF PREPARING A DISPENSING'CONTAINER Filed Dec. 6, 1955 PatentedOct. 8, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE METHOD OF PREPARING ADISPENSING CONTAINER Application December 6, 1933, Serial No. 701,225

2, Claims. 113-120) It is a common expedient to package liquid productsin hermetically sealed metal cans consisting of a body portion with endsdouble seamed thereto. The product marketed in such cans is not onlyprotected from contact with the air, but the contents of the can cannotbe changed without giving physical evidencepf the can having beentampered with. Lubricating oil is being put up by the originaldispensers in sealed cans and sold at the filling stations where theyare opened in the presence of the customers and emptied into the chamberwhere it is to be utilized for lubricating purposes. This insures thatthe customer obtains the original product. The present invention has todo with the method of preparing a sealed can of the above type to aid inthe dispensing of the contents therefrom.

An object of the invention is to provide a method whereby an opening maybe formed in a can end, and a portion of the metal of the can endadjacent the opening bent upwardly and outwardly over the double seamand shaped into a pouring spout for directing the contents flowing fromsaid opening away from the body wall of the can.

In the drawing which shows by way of illustration the various steps inthe carrying out of the method, and the completed article produced bythe method Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a sealed can havingthe end thereof out to form a dispensing opening and preparatory to theforming of a pouring spout from the end;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional View through the upper end of the canshowing the section cut from the end, lifted in the preliminary step offorming the pouring spout;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but showing the lifted section ofthe end as bent outward over the double seam and formed into a pouringspout;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3, but showing the side wall of the canbeneath the spout as crushed inward and the angle of the spout shiftedso as to better position the same for pouring from the can;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the can with the spout formed thereonready for pouring, and

Fig. 6 is a plan View showing a portion only of the container and theformed spout.

In Fig. 1 of the drawing, there is shown a can which includes a bodyportion I having the lower end secured thereto by a double seamindicated at 2. The upper end 3 is secured to the can body by a doubleseam 4. This is the well-known form of metal can in which products aremarketed,

and further detail description of the can is not thought necessary. Itmay be stated that the ends while described as being secured to the canbody by double seaming, may be otherwise secured to the can body forforming an hermetically sealed '5 package. The usual practice is to fillthe can with the product before the top end is attached and then closethe can by seaming the end thereto. When a product is marketed in a canof the above type, it is not only protected from contact with 10 theair, but the product cannot be changed or adulterated without rupturingthe metal forming the end of the can, thus giving visible evidence ofthe can having been tampered with.

The present invention has to do with the 15 method of preparing a can ofthe above type for the dispensing of the contents thereof. The can endis first penetrated at points 6 and l which are adjacent the seamjoining the end to the can body. The end is severed along a curved line20 extending inwardly from the double seam and passing through the point6. The cutter which severs the can end is preferably so shaped that thecutting edge is adjacent the double seam,

while the tapered edge is on the face of the cut- 25 ter adjacent thecenter of the can end, and therefore, when the end is cut, the edge ofthe metal will be rolled downwardly as indicated at 8 in Figures 2 to 4of the drawing. This produces a slot in the end of suificient width soas to en- 30 able a lifting tool to be placed against the end at thepoint 6', and the end depressed so that the lifting tool may he slidunderneath the cut out section 9 of the end. This cut out section 9 isshaped by the severing of the end so as to form 35 a blank from whichthe spout is to be produced. After the lifting tool has been insertedbeneath the section 9 of the end, said section is then raised to theposition shown in Fig. 2. It will be noted that the section 9 isattached to the 40 double seam of the can from the point 5 to the pointI, and therefore, when it is forcibly raised to the position shown inFig. 2, it will be curved along the base of the lifted portion so as toconform to the double seam. This results in the 45 initial shaping ofthe pouring spout. The tip of the spout is at It, while the curved sidewalls of the spout are indicated at I! and I2. After the spout is liftedto the position shown in Fig. 2, which causes the section which islifted to take 50 on the shaping of the spout, it is then bent outwardas indicated in Fig. 3, so that it overhangs the double seam 4, joiningthe top end of the can to the body portion l thereof.

The wall of the can body beneath the spout is 55 7 It rolls the doubleseam so that the spout is placed at a better angle for pouring. Thespout now well overhangs the double seam, and inclines upwardly slightlytoward its outer end. The other purpose accomplished by the bending ofthe wall of the can body is, in eflect, to destroy the can body so thatit cannot be re-used.v It v claim as new and desire to secure byLetters-Pat- "ent, is:- N

has been a common practice, when a can of the above-type is opened bycutting out a portion of the end, to sever the body wall just below thedouble seam, flange the body wall, refill and secure an end to the body,thus producing a new.

package. Unscrupulous dealers have .used'this method in the sale ofinferior oils. The empty 7 cans at a filling station havebeen obtained,the body cut in the manner described above, the body re-fianged, andthen the can filled with an inferior oil and a new end attached byseaming, and the product then sold under the trade name appearing on theoriginal can, When the can wall is crushed or bent, as shown in Figures4 and 5 of the drawing, then the end cannot be removed and the can 7re-used for this purpose, without there being clear evidence that it isa re-used can.

By the above method of preparing the can for the dispensing of thecontents thereof, a dispensing can is produced wherein a pouring spoutis formed as'an integral part of the can end. This spout extends fromone side of the pouring opening to the other side thereof, and over thedouble seam, and well out therefrom, so as to discharge the contentswell away from the body wall of the can. It is also trough-shaped anddirects the, oil without spill.

While the specific way of cutting the end and the lifting and shaping ofthe spout has been illustrated and described, it is obvious that otherways may be employed. The essential features of the invention reside inthe cutting of the end and the forming of the spout from the cut outsection of the end, which spout extends over the double seam, and isshaped and positioned for receiving and directing the fiuid as it passesfrom the opening'formed in the end of the can.

Having thus described the invention, what I '1. The method of preparinga sealed can for dispensing the liquid contents therefrom consisting inpenetrating the can end adjacent the seam joiningthe end to the bodyportion and along a curved line extending inwardly from one penetratingpoint to the other, whereby a blank is cut from the end for forming thespout, lifting said blank, turning said blank about said seam forforming'the same into a trough-shaped spout, and placing said spout sothat it overhangs the double seam. V i

2. The method of preparing a sealed can for dispensing the liquidcontents therefrom consisting in penetrating the can end adjacent theseam joining the end to the body portion and along a curved, lineextending inwardly from one penetrating point to the other, whereby ablank is out from the end for forming the spout, lifting said blank,turning said blank about said seam for forming the same intoa'trough-shaped spout, placing said spout so that it overhangs thedouble seam, and bending the wall of the can body beneath the seam forchanging the angle of the spout and destroying the curved cylindricalcontour of said body.

' OSCAR C. HUFFMAN.

